John McAfee Suffers Heart Attack While Jailed in Guatemala

Software company founder John McAfee lies on a gurney inside an ambulance, to be transferred from an immigration detention center to a hospital, in Guatemala City, Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012 . He was examined by a doctor at the detention center, who said that McAfee's heart and blood pressure were normal, but nonetheless was being moved to a hospital after McAfee was found lying on the floor in the room where he was being detained. McAfee who fled Belize was denied political asylum in Guatemala on Thursday and police in Belize said they expected him to be flown back soon for questioning about the killing of a fellow American expatriate.(AP Photo/Moises Castillo)AP2012

Guatemala City – John McAfee, who was arrested Wednesday night for entering Guatemala illegally, reportedly was taken to a Guatemalan hospital after suffering a heart attack, according to his blog and media reports.

"Several news agencies are reporting that John McAfee has been taken to a Guatemala City hospital after suffering a possible heart attack," his blog said. "We have no news on his status at this time."

McAfee had spent the day in jail blogging. The anti-virus guru was denied political asylum in Guatemala on Thursday and police in Belize said they expected him to be flown back soon for questioning about the killing of a fellow American expatriate.

“I am in jail in Guatemala. Vastly superior to Belize jails,” McAfee wrote on his website. “I believe, by the way, that blogging from a jail cell might be a groundbreaking activity.”

McAfee's could could complicate his extradition.

Earlier in the day, Guatemalan authorities said McAfee's request for asylum had been denied but did not explain why. Shortly after the decision was announced, McAfee issued a plea on his blog for the public to petition Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina to let him stay.

"Please email the President of Guatemala and beg him to allow the court system to proceed, to determine my status in Guatemala, and please support the political asylum that I am asking for," the post read.

SUMMARY

McAfee went on the run last month after officials tried to question him about the killing of Gregory Viant Faull, who was shot to death in early November on the Belize island where both men lived.

Earlier on Wednesday, McAfee said he had formally requested asylum in Guatemala after entering the country from Belize, where he says he fears for his safety because he has sensitive information about official corruption and refused to donate to local politicians.

Since refusing to turn himself in to authorities in Belize, the 67-year-old had been in hiding, blogging his movements and calling reporters, until reappearing in Guatemala. He has not said how he crossed the border into Guatemala.

McAfee’s whereabouts in Guatemala may have been inadvertently revealed when Vice magazine published a story on their website entitled “We Are With John McAfee Right Now, Suckers” that showed via a location data embedded in the photo that he was in Guatemala.

The software pioneer was traveling with Robert King, a Vice photographer, who first reported story and posted a video of McAfee’s final moments before his arrest.

McAfee has been furiously sending messages to both the public via his website and reporters as well as making appeals to governments to help in his case.

“I just spoke with the duty officer at the Embassy who said there is nothing that they can do,” McAff wrote about contacting the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala. “ I asked to be returned to the States, and again … nothing they can do. So I will wait and see. P.S. Anybody have friends in the State Department?”

According to his website, McAfee – who has consistently stated his innocence in the murder in Belize – said that his lawyer Telesforo Guerra brought a judge to the jail, who issued a stay order until the higher judge reviewed the case.

In his blog posts, McAfee complained of boredom and not being able to sleep. He wrote that he has been spending his time answering people who have posted on his blog, including one that asked him if he had contemplated suicide.

McAfee went on the run last month after officials tried to question him about the killing of Gregory Viant Faull, who was shot to death in early November on the Belize island where both men lived.

McAfee had engaged in a series of clashes with neighbors and authorities over allegations he kept aggressive dogs, illegal weapons and drug paraphernalia in his beachfront home on a Belize island. McAfee acknowledges that his dogs were bothersome and that Faull had complained about them, but denies killing Faull.

Faull's home was a couple of houses down from McAfee's compound.

The Faull family has said through a representative that the murder of their loved one on Ambergris Caye has gotten lost in the media frenzy provoked by McAfee's manipulation of the media through phone calls, emails and blog posts detailing his life on the lam.

McAfee dropped out of sight in Belize after police said they were seeking him, although he grabbed global attention with regular phone calls with reporters and blog updates. He claimed to be wearing disguises and watching as police raided his house. It was unclear, however, how much of what McAfee — a confessed practical joker — said and wrote was true.

At one point, he even posted on his blog that he mounted an elaborate ruse in Mexico involving a double with a passport under his name.

He had earlier said he didn't plan to leave Belize but ultimately did because he thought "Sam" was in danger, referring to the young woman who has accompanied him since he went into hiding.

McAfee, the creator of the McAfee antivirus program, has led an eccentric life since he sold his stake in the anti-virus software company that is named after him in the early 1990s and moved to Belize about three years ago to lower his taxes.

He told The New York Times in 2009 that he had lost all but $4 million of his $100 million fortune in the U.S. financial crisis. However, a story on the Gizmodo website quoted him as calling that claim "not very accurate at all." He has dabbled in yoga, ultra-light aircraft and producing herbal medications.